Yeterinaey mouth



(No Model.)

W. L. VETTER.

VETERINARY MOUTH SPEGULUM.

No. 548,409. 7 Patented Oct. 22, 1895.

A I Untr'rrzn STAT S PATENT Orrrcn.

WILLIAM L. VETTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO SHARP 6: SMITH,

OF SAME PLACE. Y

VETERiNA RY MOUTH-SPECULUM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 548,409, dated October 22, 1895.

Application filed January 21, 1893. Serial No. 459,121. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM L. VETTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of lilinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mouth-Speculums for Horses, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in mouth-speculums for horses of the class em- 10 ployed in veterinary surgery or dentistry to hold open a horses mouth and prevent his jaws from closing while the throat, teeth, or mouth is being operated upon.

In the drawings, Figure l is a. perspective view of my improved speculum,showingitin its opened condition with recessed hearings to engage the teeth of a horse and with the preferred means for holding it in position upon a horses head; Fig. 2, a broken partly- 2: sectional view of one side of the jaw-frame, showing my improved means for locking the jaws in opened condition; and Fig. 3, a removable cross-bar for use particularly in veterinary dentistry when the front teeth of the horse are to be operated upon.

I A is the frame of the speculum, having sides formed each with coincident upper jawpieces t and lower jaw-pieces s. The jawpiecest are curved, as shown, their convex o sides being uppermost, and the lower jawpieces 8 are similarly curved, their convex sides being undermost. Near their rear ends the jaw-pieces ts are curved in directions contrary to those described and are bifurcated to 5 afford bearings t .9. Near their bifurcated ends the jaw-pieces are formed, respectively, with side sockets t s". The jaw-pieces t 8 fit together at their socket portions t s and are pivotally connected by means of trans- 0 verse pins or rivets 'r. Pivoted upon transverse pins (F in the bifurcated ends t of the jaw-pieces tare catches q, serrated at their rear edges to afford engaging sockets g. In the bifurated portions of the jaw-pieces s 5 are transverse pins, affording stops The catches g, which afiord pivotal rack-bars, extend through the openings formed by the bifurcated ends of the j aw-pieces s, and above the said openings they are widened and rendered slightly concave at their rear surfaces to afford thumb-bearings (1 The teeth on the catches q afford cam-surfaces at the upper sides of the sockets q and slightly recessed surfaces at the lower sides of said sockets, so that the serrated edges will move across the pins .9 when the jawpieces are spread apart and the sockets q will engage the pins 8 under pressure exerted to close the jaws. The lower ends of the catches qare rounded, as shown at g and springs q, fastened to the under surfaces of the jaw-pieces t, bear against the rounded cam-shaped ends (1 to press the serrated edges of the catches normally against the pins 5 At their forward ends the jaw-pieces t are provided with flat upper surfaces 6 and shoulders 25 On the flat surfaces i are headed studs 25. The jaw-pieces s are provided at their forward ends with flat under surfaces .9 shoulders 8 and headed studs 8. 7

B and B are the upper and lower recessed teeth-engagin g plates, preferably of the form shown. The plates B B may he of exactly the same shape, and are provided in their opposite end portions with sockets 12, just capabio of receiving the shank portions of the studs 25 s. The ends of the plates or cross bars B B are rounded, as shown, and the rear sides of the said end portions present straight surfaces or end side edges 19' to fit against the shoulders i 8 respectively. To place the plates or cross-bars in position they are slipped over the shank portions of the studs .9 t and turned until their edges 19' engage the shoulder 23 s of the jaw-pieces. This manner of attaching the jaw pieces and cross-bars together affords pivotal connections, which operate to hold the opposite sides of the speculum-frame the desired distance apart at their forward end and permit the on rear portions of the said sidesto be swung on the pivots afforded by the studs in the outward direction to separate them. The jawpieces 6 and cross-bar B form the upper jaw of the frame A, and the jaw-pieces s and cross- 5 bar B form the lower jaw of the frame. The jaws are of the same shape; but as it is desir able that the catches q shall in use extend in the upper direction the distinguishing terms upper and lower as applied to the jaws too are employed advisedly, though the device may be used upside down. On the j aw-pieces and the said cross-bars are slipped into the horses month until his upper front teeth rest in the recess of the cross-bar B and his lower front teeth in the recess of the cross-bar B. The jaw-pieces t s extend along opposite sides of the jaws of the animal, and the speculum is fastened in place by means of the straps m y a. The operator then takes hold of the device at the parts adjacent to the pivots r in a manner to cause his fingers to extend around the adjacent portions of the jaw-piecest s and his thumbs to bear against the parts g of the catches q. Pressure exerted by his thumbs against the catches releases them from the pins or stops s and the pressure of his fingers against the jaw-pieces ts causes the latter to spread apart and open the jaws. When the mouth of the horse is opened to a sufficient extent, the operator releases the catches cf to cause the respective socket q to engage the pins 5 and hold the jaw-pieces against closing. The upwardly-curved shape of the jaw-pieces t and oppositelycurved shape of the jaw-pieces 5 causes them to ex-, tend above and below the sides of the horses mouth, respectively, so that they present no obstruction. Speculu ms provided with straight jaw-pieces t s are found in practice to be in the way when the back teeth of the O bears, in practice, against the gums of the animal just in rear of the front teeth, and to prevent injury to the gums each cross-bar is preferably provided with a covering of soft Owing to the way the cross-bars rubber 0.

are secured to the jaw-pieces they may be readily removed and replaced. In carrying the device about, therefore, by removing the cross-bars and closing the jaw-pieces the device may be contracted to a comparatively small compass and readily carried in the pocket.

One of the principle advantages of my im provement rests in the construction of the .meohanism for locking the jaws in opened condition, wherein the locking-catches are beyond or behind the pivots r. Other constructions which have the locking mechanism at orin front of the pivots are apt to be in the way and render the operation of opening the horses mouth, especially when the horse is vicious or resents the operation, much harder to accomplish than with my improved con-' struction. 7

What I claim as new, and desire to'secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a mouth speculum for horses, the comsaid shoulders, and a locking device for the jaw-pieces substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a mouth-speculum for horses having its frame formed of sides comprisingpivotally connected jaw-pieces, the oppositely curved bifurcated extensions of the jaw-pieces, behind their pivotal connections, spring-controlled rack-bars g each terminating at one end in a thumb-piece and pivoted at its opposite end to the curved rear extension of an upper jaw-piece in its bifurcated end, and a stop 3 in the bifurcated rear extension of each lower jaw-piece and engaged by a rack-bar, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

WILLIAM L. VETTER.

In presence of M. J. FROST, W. N. WILLIAMS. 

